Nov. 18, 2004
Gretchen Cook-Anderson
Headquarters, Washington
(Phone: 202/358-0836)
Stuart Salter
The World Conservation Union
Gland, Switzerland
(Phone: +41 (0) 22 999 01 45)
RELEASE: 04-376
NASA SATELLITE DATA TO AID GLOBAL CONSERVATION
NASA and IUCN - The World Conservation Union, the world's largest
environmental knowledge network, signed a joint declaration today in
Bangkok, Thailand, to use NASA satellite data to help in worldwide
conservation efforts.
The purpose of the joint declaration is to improve IUCN access to NASA
data, technology, images and remote sensing products. IUCN members
and commissions will incorporate the data to help improve the quality
and effectiveness of environmental decision-making and to improve
conservation outcomes.
"This opportunity for NASA to help advance conservation efforts
globally reinforces our vision to use our unique vantage from space
to improve life here on Earth," said NASA's Deputy Associate
Administrator for Science Ghassem Asrar. "Modern environmental and
conservation decision-support systems need access to good
information. Increasingly, these systems are using geospatial
technologies to provide decision-makers with a range of possible
options and, in the future, could be used to predict possible
outcomes," he said.
IUCN is a unique union of more than 1,000 worldwide member
organizations. Its mission is to influence, encourage and assist
societies throughout the world to conserve the integrity and
diversity of nature and to ensure any use of natural resources is
equitable and ecologically sustainable.
"The potential for the beneficial use of this information in the area
of the environment and conservation is enormous," said IUCN Director
General Achim Steiner. "Yet until now, it has remained largely
untapped, particularly in the developing world," he added.
Advances in technology have made NASA's remote sensing data and images
accessible and affordable worldwide by most organizations. IUCN has
unparalleled access to a rich source of conservation information and
knowledge. Its global membership ranges from small community-based
nongovernmental organizations to large scientific institutions,
government agencies and states, in both the developed and developing
world. This declaration is a critical first step in joining NASA's
world-class expertise, data and information resources with IUCN's
environment and conservation expertise, and its unique global
knowledge network.
NASA satellite data will be used in several IUCN support systems for
conservation, including the Species Information Service, Protected
Areas Learning Network (PALNet) and the World Database on Protected
Areas (WDPA).
IUCN's Species Information Service is a worldwide biodiversity and
conservation management tool that includes its Red List of Threatened
Species, the world's most authoritative assessment of the
conservation status of animals and plants. NASA will help IUCN
develop this globally accessible, biodiversity database.
PALNet and the WDPA also will benefit from NASA data. Many of the
world's 100,000 protected areas are poorly mapped, due to
inaccessibility and lack of resources. NASA's satellite imagery will
enable creation of accurate maps. In addition, the data will help
create a "Protected Area Archive," which will be incorporated into
PALNet and WDPA projects.
NASA data will also be provided under the IUCN Conservation Commons
Initiative on sharing environmental knowledge. NASA is committed to
sharing information and data with the general public. The agency is
working with some 40 other global and regional partners to define and
implement this innovative knowledge-sharing initiative.
For more information about NASA on the Internet, visit:
http://www.nasa.gov/home/index.html
For more information about the IUCN on the Internet, visit:
http://www.iucn.org/
-end-